Hillside

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Families said they were involved in the planning of their family member’s care. Documentation showed the manager communicated with families and professionals regularly on people’s wellbeing. One relative told us, “I speak with [manager] a lot. [Family member] is doing more and they are catering to their needs.”

We saw evidence that specialist professionals were involved in the assessment of people’s needs and the development of positive behavioural support plans (PBS). A PBS plan is a person-centred strategy to understand and manage behaviours that are challenging. Instead of just focusing on the behaviour itself, it works to improve the individual's quality of life by addressing the underlying causes.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

People were supported by appropriate health and social care professionals if the need arose. We saw regular review meetings took place, and the manager sought advice from learning disability behaviour management specialists to provide effective support and keep people safe. Staff we spoke with were able to describe the needs of the people they supported, and the help they required.

People had enough to eat and drink to prevent malnutrition or dehydration and were supported to manage their dietary needs and associated risks.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

The manager sought feedback from other services to deliver person-centred support. One staff member from another service praised Hillside staff saying, “They [manager] are listening to us and taking on board what we are saying.”

Staff told us there was excellent communication between their staff team and to and from management.

The provider was working to support people to live healthier lives that promoted their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Conversations with people around health and wellbeing needed to be tailored to ensure their understanding and lessen distress and promote positive outcomes.

The provider and staff were getting to know the people they were supporting. Part of the process was encouraging healthy eating and monitoring their wellbeing.

Processes were in place to mitigate choking risks. When people were discouraged from making unhealthy food choices strategies needed to be implemented to guide staff on how to talk with people, so they understood what was being suggested and didn’t become distressed. The manager told us they would implement guidance to support staff in this scenario.

The provider had their own transport to allow people to attend appointments, access college, meet family and participate in activities they enjoyed. This had maintained relationships and supported new friendships to develop with peers.

The provider monitored people’s care and treatment seeking to continuously improve it. They sought outcomes that met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

The manager attended regular meetings with professionals to discuss and monitor outcomes and drive improvement. They also sought feedback from people, their families, and staff. There was analysis of information by the management team, quality leads and behaviour specialists on incidents that occurred, and actions taken.

The provider promoted people’s rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Staff understood the importance of obtaining consent before they delivered care or support. Staff completed training in The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), to aid their understanding of people’s rights. One person was new to the service, but staff were still able to give examples of how they sought consent.

When people lacked the capacity to make a decision and the decision needed to be made for them, the MCA states the decision must be made in their best interests. Records showed the manager had followed legal processes and taken suitable steps to support people effectively. Management and staff worked with people’s advocates to ensure their rights were upheld.